Resurrection Cathedral (Podgorica)

Exterior view of the Resurrection Cathedral in Podgorica

Rear view

The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ ( Montenegrin Саборни Храм Христовог Васкрсења / Saborni Hram Hristovog Vaskrsenja) is the main Serbian Orthodox church and the largest church in Podgorica and one of the landmarks of the Montenegrin capital. It is the cathedral of the Metropolitan Region of Montenegro and the coastal country of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the largest Orthodox church in Montenegro at all.

The Resurrection Cathedral, built from 1993 to 2013, was designed by architects Predrag Ristić and Jovan Popović. Its almost 36 meter high dome dominates the image of the city.

Building history

On August 9, 1993, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomeos I , the Serbian Patriarch Pavle and the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Coastal Region, Amfilohije Radović , laid and consecrated the foundation stone for the cathedral. On May 18, 1994, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexius II celebrated a liturgy on the foundation.

On October 7, 2013 - the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Tolerance of Milan - the Resurrection Cathedral was solemnly opened by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, the Orthodox Patriarchs of Russia ( Cyril I ), Serbia ( Irinej ) and Jerusalem ( Theophilos III ), on Archbishops of Cyprus ( Chrysostomos II. ), Athens ( Hieronymos II. ) And Albania ( Anastasios ), the Polish Orthodox Metropolitan Sawa and numerous other representatives of Orthodox churches inaugurated. Thousands of people had gathered in front of the cathedral for this event. The ceremony was also attended by the Montenegrin President Filip Vujanović and other high-ranking politicians.

Description and interior design

The Resurrection Cathedral has a built-up area of 1,270 m² (total area of all interior spaces: 4,000 m²) and was built on a cross-shaped floor plan. A 35.50 meter high dome with a 4 meter high gilded cross rises above the main room.

The main entrance is flanked by two 26.70 meter high bell towers, the peal of which includes 17 bells. The largest bell weighs 11 tons. On the ground floor of the two bell towers there are two chapels dedicated to Saints Simeon Mirotočivi and Jovan Vladimir . The Simeon Mirotočivi Chapel houses a renovated old baptismal font from the former Zlatica monastery near Podgorica.

The interior is decorated with frescoes , icons , mosaics , stone sculptures and wood carvings that reflect the Christian-Orthodox heritage of Montenegro from early Christian times to the present. The frescoes in the interior were painted on a gilded surface and cover a total area of 6,200 m². The floors are covered by 1,872 m² of mosaics; there are also 79 m² of wall mosaics. A mosaic above the main entrance shows the resurrection of Jesus Christ . The representations in the main room include numerous saints, but also personalities from Serbian and Montenegrin history, including members of the Nemanjić and Petrović dynasties . A fresco shows the communist philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as well as the Yugoslav state and party leader Josip Broz Tito in hell.

In the basement there is a crypt , which is also partially decorated with frescoes.

Interior view of the main room
dome
Chancel with iconostasis
Depiction of hell (fresco) with Tito, Marx and Engels (in the middle above the monster)
crypt
Resurrection of Jesus Christ (mosaic above the main entrance)